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tv   AB Cs World News With Charles Gibson  ABC  October 27, 2009 6:30pm-7:00pm EDT

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welcome to "world news." tonight, terrible toll. roadside bombs kill eight more u.s. soldiers making this the deadliest month in afghanistan.
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and the government official resigns in protest over war policy. grounded. the northwest pilots lose their licenses. their actions raise questions whether too much technology in the cockpit leaves pilots with too little to do. power couple. we talked with bill and melinda gates about their crusade to improve global health. are their millions making a difference? and some fascinating snippets. behind the scenes in last year's presidential campaign. good evening. yesterday, the number was 14 americans killed in afghanistan. today, eight more. these were all u.s. soldiers killed in two separate roadside bombs. two days, 22 american families suffering incalculable loss. so far october, 55 american troops have been killed. this is now the deadlyiest month
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of the war. one senior middle tear officer told abc news it seems quite clear at that taliban and others trying to influence this nation's decisions. our senior foreign correspondent jim sciutto is in kabul tonight. >> reporter: charlie, it's been a 48 if hour period. all of the losses were suffered in one unit riding in one kind of armored vehicle. >> reporter: the two devastating attacks targeted soldiers travelling in stryker armored vehicles from the 5-2 stryker brigade out of ft. lewis, washington. the first came late this morning in sand da in zambhar province. a stryker hit by a massive roadside bomb, followed by an ambush with small-arms fired while american soldiers were killed. the losses come at an extremely
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time in washington. a wider reassessment of the u.s. goals in afghanistan. in capitol hill today, senator john mccain, an ardent support of sending more troops say the losses increase the need. >> every day that goes by without the decision being made, the more days there are with more americans unnecessarily in harm's way in my view. >> reporter: but the administration is also taking very public criticism from the opposite side of the debate. today, we learned that former service member and marine captain matthew howell became the first u.s. official to resign in protest against the war. >> i believe that people there are fighting are fighting for we're occupying them. not for ideological reasons, not because of al qaeda or fundamental hatred toward the west. >> reporter: today, back in ft. lewis, washington, the hometown of the stryker brigade, residents are in shock. >> it was like, please don't let
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it be our soldiers then we hear that it is, it makes the place kind of somber. >> reporter: and in a somber restaurant in a local restaurant, they updated the loss. the stryker brigade was scheduled to deploy to iraq but was diverted to afghanistan. it was avenue for some protection for roadside bombs, but, charlie, not nearly enough. >> jim sciutto reporting from kabul. white house press secretary robert gibbs said the president's meeting with the joint chiefs of staff this friday will be one of the last information-gathering meetings he will hold before making the decision on the question of the troops. the roadside bombs used in the attacks have become by far the number one of thes fors. jim sciutto reported on the stryker by which the troops were traveling. several designed vehicle far less vulnerable to afghanistan. they're now being rushed.
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bob woodruff reports on ose. >> reporter: this is the machine the pentagon says will be a difference-maker in afghanistan. it's called the matv. a heavily armored off-road vehicle designed for the forbidding often roadless afghan terrain. >> they're faster and lighter. they're survivable. and you can get to the places to save lives. >> reporter: the department of defense has already ordered more than 5,000 matvs at a cost of nearly $1.5 million each. >> is this an urge against? you bet it's an urgency. these vehicles are hugely important. the additional protection, the additional mobility that it will provide the troops is go to be of enormous importance to them. >> reporter: today's attacks are the latest evidence of ieds in afghanistan. claimed the lives of 30 troops.
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arly doubled so far this year, kleining 24 this month. the high-protiert atv program is reminiscent of the multibillion dollar effort. but afghanistan's primitive infrastructure has proven inhospitable to the shipped in from iraq. in june, the pentagon tagged the oshkosh corporation to quickly build these trucks which some are called mma. tv light. they were loaded up and airlifted to afghanistan. >> as we ask them to take on a very tough mission for a tough enemy. >> reporter: no one could say if these vehicles could have saved the eight soldiers today but the pentagon insists the matv will
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offer the best protection possible four the troops in afghanistan. bob woodruff. in iraq, video from surveillance cameras show the explosion in baghdad. the camera othe justice ministry shows the mini bus used by the terrorists as it rounded the traffic circle just before the explosion. then another video shows the heavy destruction that resulted outside of the baghdad provision administration. next, we turn to the h1n1. an official told congress that despite overly optimistic estimates, the flu vaccine is getting back on track. that might be a tough sell for people standing in long lines hoping to get vaccinated. barbara pinto spent the day in a line today. >> reporter: it started small. >> are you here for the shot, sir? >> reporter: but not for long. the crowd of the -- d the
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patient began lining up at 9 am. >> scheduled to begin distributing vaccinations at 3:00 this afternoon. >> reporter: for six long hours, they packed this hallway, spilling over into the college gym. the latest americans to take a number and wait. >> number 29, that's my age so maybe i'll get lucky. and i'll get it today. >> reporter: jennifer viverito hopes so -- for weeks, she's been hunting for the swine flu vaccine for herself and her 2-year-old son. >> it's irritating more than tiring because it's like i can't get it in my doctor's office. >> reporter: the backdrop at basketball practice, a cautious and frigaty crowd. kristen grant and her teenaged daughter camped out all day. >> i haven't lived through an epidemic before. i think this is something our generation hasn't experienced. i'm scared. >> reporter: maria miller, who has asthma, pulled her 5-year-old son out of school. on saturday she waited all day for nothing. so you were turned away last time? what happened? >> they ran out of the vaccination.
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>> reporter: the millers and hundreds of others had logged five hours on the bleachers by the time the vaccine, 1,600 doses, and the nurs arrived. any idea if you'll be able to do service all the people who showed up here? >> that's the plan. >> reporter: by 2:30, a half hour before start time, deanne chung still hadn't told the youngest of her three boys why he was here. he doesn't know he's getting a needle? >> no, he doesn't. >> reporter: when are you going to break the news? >> when he sees it. >> reporter: at 3:00, they began vaccinating. >> numbers 1 through 25. >> reporter: and those who waited longest, got what they came for, even if they weren't happy about it. >> that's it. that's it. all done. >> reporter: just 30 minutes after they gave out the first shot, they had to shut down the lines. there were more people than there was vaccine so hundreds were turned away. >> facing long lines again. barbara pinto in chicago, thanks. on the money tonight, america's energy future,
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president obama visited a florida solar plant to announce $3.4 billion of stimulus money will be used to upgrade the country's electrical grid. and vice president biden was in delaware where it was announced that it closed down general motors assembly plant will be now taken over by any new auto company, fr auto. still ahead, are other flight crews paying attention in the cockpit? our interview with bill and melinda gates. our "closer look." and history-making campaign. never before scene footage of the first family. (announcer) there are car radios... and then there is the voice-recognizing, text-out-loud-reading, turn-by-turn-direction- giving sync® system ...in the all-new taurus from ford. (beep) (sync® voice) please say a command. read message. (sync® voice) highway 8 closed.
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one flight attendant on board said they should have lost their licenses. here's lisa stark. >> reporter: on computers the plane can be programmed to fly itself. even though -- >> it was never intended to replace people. replace the need for highly trained high skilled professional pilots. >> reporter: pilots who were supposed to be monitoring the aircraft, checking instruments, communicating, even as the flight drones on. >> it's low stimulus environment. it's real easy to become distracts. >> reporter: rules to keep pilots on tack on take off and landing below 10,000 feet, pilots are allowed only to talk about the flight. but investigators find in many
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accidents the rule is ignored. in this crash three years ago, pilots discussed dogs, kids, jobs before taking off from the wrong runway. in the air, above 10,000 feet, the airlines set their own policies about cockpit discipline. the major carriers told us today they either ban personal laptops or personal devices or reading material of any kind. and on the latest boeing aircraft pilots will get a written report and then an alarm if there's no activity detected after a certain time. ultimately what happens behind the cockpit door depends on professionalism. >> professionalism is knowing the cockpit that's relaxed and easy and a good working atmosphere. and one that is sloppy and major mistakes that happen. >> reporter: mistakes that are rare but can be deadly. lisa stark, abc news, washington. and we have an update to our
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story earlier this month about cheerleaders banned from displays religious signs. "the new york times" found more bible investigators than ever being displayed. but now displayed on the stands, on signs and t-shirts. coming up, bill and melinda gates on making steady progress against enormous problems. my mother has it, and now i have it. so even though i tried to keep my bones strong, it wasn't enough. now, once-monthly boniva is helping me do more. it didn't just stop my bone loss. boniva worked with my body to !stop and reverse my bone loss. and studies show, after ne year on boniva,, nine out of ten women stopped nd reversed theirs, too., (announcer)"don't take bonivf you have low blood calcium, severe kidney disese, or can't sit, or stand for at .least one hour., follow dosing instructions carefully. stop taking boniva and tell " your doctor if you have difficult or painful swallowing, chest pain or severe or continuing heartburn, as these
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in in our "closer look," bill and melinda gates with their foundation, they are attempting a seemingly overwhelming task to improve the health of millions in some of the world's poorest nations. tonight, in washington, they're launching the living proof project, designed to show the money they are spending along with money from the u.s. government really is working and really is making a difference. last year, it's gates foundation gave away almost $3 billion. since it began, donations total more than $20 billion. i talked with bill and melinda gates this morning. >> we're trying to tell the story of how the u.s. government's investments have made a huge difference and saved
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millions of lives. it's not often you that hear of a government program that's gone so well. in fact, even better than expected. >> when we travel and see the progress made on the ground in places like africa and india, we come back to the u.s. and you don't read about what a program like the president's emergency plan for aids, what that's done for africans. it's completely changed the sense of hopelessness they had about aids before. >> most important -- i suppose each of you have an answer for this. most important breakthrough? >> getting vaccines and getting those out and distracted. there's two, one for a diarrhea and one for respiratory. an pneumonia vaccine which between them will save millions of lives. which is now just getting out and developing them. they're being used regularly for kids in the united states. that is the single biggest thing
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i'd say. >> i'd say that is huge. >> you would agree on this? >> this, and when were you look at childhood deaths. this is where bill and i really started saying, can you really do something about the childhood deaths. and it is a vaccine that makes the difference. >> problemsre enormous. do you feel it's like the ocean or is it lasting? >> i worry about that. at first when we got into this work, i was like, wow, there's so much need. i was in tanzania, i met a woman who walked six hours to a clinic because she knew the difference in having the baby in the clinic. 2.5 million kids are alive because of that effort. so when i go out and meet people and see what the difference is, then you don't lose hope. you really don't. >> what's the next great in your
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mind, m metamore fa sis that we going to go through? >> the with the computer, having to see gestures you're making, that's coming from the pc and xbox. a voice where you can talk to your phone. that's coming more and more. this tele-phase will make the computer less pervasive. less a single device. that's been talked about for a long time that's finally entering the mainstream. >> you mean -- i'm not sure i want the computer to see me while i sit there. what does at mean? >> well, it can encourage you to exercise or do your calisthenics. or virtual tennis or golf. it's very cool.
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you know, that will be coming out next year. and i think it will amaze people. >> do you find him slipping back into his old habits at times where his energies and thoughts are focused? or do you have him severely with a foundation? >> there's always been since we were dating. software is where the heart of his brain is. i see him doing microsoft business from here and there which is great. but, yeah, the foundation is primarily where he's spending the bulk of his time. >> you see the entire conversation of bill and melinda gates. to see the video you can go to our blog at the world newser@abcnews.com. up next, fascinating scenes from the historic obama #1 doctor recommendation the for joint pain.
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but i'm an on-the-go woman. i've been active all my life. that's why i'm excited about reclast, the osteoporosis treatment my doctor gives me once a year. my doctor says one iv of reclast can help protect me while i'm onthe-go for twelve months. how? well, reclast helps to restrengthen my bones to help make them resistant to fracture. and with reclast... well... no other osteoporosis tratment is approved to help protct in more places: hip, spine, even other bones. (announcer) you hould not take reclastp , have low blood calcium, kiney problems or you're pregnant, .plan to become pregnant, or nursing. take calcium and vitamin d daily. tell your doctor if you deveop severe muscle, bone or joint pain or if you have dental problems,
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...now feel that finally tonight, a year after his election. we're getting a look at some of president obama's most private time during the race for the white house. out of 770 hours of background footage, two remarkable hours have been chosen for a new hbo documentary, offering intriguing glimpses if anything of a young
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president, a supporter and a young family. >> if it's kathy, tell her she can stay as long as she wants. >> hi, daddy. >> hi. daddy, i had a lot of chocolate today. >> i think did he presses me on honesty, i mean, i think there's nothing wrong with -- the only thing that i don't want to sound whiny about his lies. senator mccain keeps on talking about me being rescued. let me tell the american people what's rescued. i think senator mccain's plan for tax care and health care benefits essentially leaving 20 billion people without health care, i think that's risky. i'm a volunteer with the obama campaign, ohio are you? who is diana? obama is a candidate for president.
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obama. he's a candidate running for president. of the united states. of the of america. he is running for president. obama. hope you have a wonderful day. >> when i was practicing the speech for the first time, and i came to the end where i talked about king speaking, you know, the lincoln memorial, and i choked up, i had to stop. and dr. king's speech happened when i was 2 years old. the majority of americans at that time couldn't vote, much less run for president.
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>> just some of the scenes from the documentary "by the people" that premieres on hbo next week. that's "world news" for this tuesday. i'm charlie gibson. an and i hope you had a good day. for all of us at abc news, have a good night.

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